ANNA PAVLOVA [ one of 300 copies, ENGLISH edition ]
Paris: M. de Brunoff 1922. First English Language Edition. 196 pages. Rebound by hand in Maroquin goatskin (Paris) and blind titled with hand tools in an alphabet patterned after Delphian Open title 60 by R. Hunter Middlton 1928. Work done in 1970 by Paul Mucci, a San Francisco bookbinder (with letter bound in the rear detailing condition when received and what work was done). One of an edition of 300 copies of the English edition, of which this is number 2. Signed by the publisher on the colophon. Clamshell box covered with classic calf vellum (England) and handmade Omi paper (Japan) and spine title blind stamped using Castellar 600 type. A number of the plates have significant foxing, although some have none at all. Green Dragon bindery reinforced the spine construction on the box which had loosened over time and was poorly designed. Woodcuts by D. Galanis. Possibly signed by Pavlova on the half title page. Near Fine. Leather bound. [27589]
"Anna Pavlova was a famous Russian prima ballerina and choreographer. The company she founded in 1911 was the first to tour ballet around the world. Anna Pavlova was a Russian prima ballerina during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. After attending the Imperial Ballet School, she made her company debut in 1899 and quickly became a prima ballerina. Her breakthrough performance was in The Dying Swan in 1905 which became her signature role. She joined the Ballet Russe in 1909 and formed her own company in 1911...Pavlova was one of the most celebrated and influential ballet dancers of her time. Her passion and grace are captured in striking photographic portraits. Her legacy lives on through dance schools, societies and companies established in her honor, and perhaps most powerfully, in the future generations of dancers she inspired." (biography)
Provenance: Properly de-accessioned from Phillips Academy. From the library of Caroyln Parks, a San Francisco ballerina. "Carolyn Buchmann Parks (1912 - 2008) Passed away peacefully at her home in San Francisco, CA, on January 21, 2008. Born in Alamosa, CO, she was the youngest child of Max Buchmann of Adlesdorf, Bavaria and Carrie Kahn Buchmann of Cairo, IL. She started studying ballet in Denver, CO, when she was 10 years old, moving to New York at the age of 18 and then to Paris. Among her teachers were Lillian Cushing, Michel Fokine, Luigi Albertieri, Lubov Egorova in Paris, and Nicholas Legat in London. Mrs. Parks danced professionally throughout the 1930s, touring with the Mistinguette ballet troupe until she formed her own group, which performed first in Europe and later in South America, where she met a young pilot, Richard Turner Parks, whom she married in 1935. During WWII, Mrs. Parks worked as a code breaker for the US government, and Mr. Parks was a pilot in the Army Air Corps. After the war the Parks settled in the San Francisco Bay Area, where she later bought and directed the Academy of Ballet at 2121 Market Street. With her lifelong friend and colleague, Leona Norman, she also managed and directed the Bay Area Ballet and was instrumental in founding the Marin Civic Ballet. At this time, Mrs. Parks's article in Dance Magazine, "Toe Shoes ...When?" challenged the practice of allowing young dancers to start pointe work prematurely, before their legs and feet had developed sufficiently. This article prompted Capezio Dancewear to end its production of toe shoes for very young girls. It also lead to an invitation from the Kirov Ballet School for Mrs. Parks to work with its teachers in 1960, thereby advancing the new practice internationally. A passionate supporter of the arts and higher education, Mrs. Parks established the Carolyn B. Parks Trust, providing scholarships for youth to realize their educational and professional goals. She was a tireless, gracious hostess, entertaining friends and dignitaries of the dance world for over 40 years. Her life was a gift to all who knew and loved her." (from her obituary)
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